Chlorinator Indicator and Uses Thereof

ABSTRACT

The present invention provides a device that can be used with in-line chlorinating systems for pools and will allow visual indication of the amount of chlorine or other chemicals that remain in the in-line chlorinating system without having to remove the cap or cover of the reservoir. The device is unique because it is maintenance free and relies on gravity and no other force to work.

FEDERAL FUNDING LEGEND

This invention was not created using federal funds.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

Field of the Invention

The present invention generally relates to a device that is adapted for use with in-line chemical reservoir systems used to store chemicals to disinfect swimming pools, hot tubs, and other similar water avenues. More specifically, the present invention is drawn to a device, which allows visual indication of chlorine that remain in the in-line chlorinating system.

Description of the Related Art

Swimming pools, hot tubs, and other similar water venues use filtration and circulation systems in addition to good sanitization method to keep the pools clean, disease-free and safe for swimmers. There are different methods that one can implement to sanitize pools. Of all the disinfecting methods and systems, the most common disinfecting methods use halogen such as chlorine and bromine to disinfect the water.

Conventional devices that are used to disinfect these water venues do not have a device that indicates the level of the disinfectant remaining the reservoir pool without having to open the reservoir itself. Thus, there is a long-felt but significant and un-met need in the art for a maintenance free and gravity based device that allows the user to visually determine the level of the disinfectant remaining in these reservoirs without having to open the reservoir itself. The present invention satisfies this long standing need in the art.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

In a preferred embodiment, the present invention is directed to a device that indicates amount of chemical remaining in a chemical reservoir.

In another embodiment, such a device comprises a means to visually determine level of the chemical remaining in the reservoir; and a means to connect the device to the chemical reservoir.

In yet another embodiment, the means to visually determine level of the chemical remaining in the reservoir comprises a hollow, clear cylindrical pipe with a top end and an open bottom end, where the top end is covered by a cap and a coupler is placed on the bottom end; and a rod having a diameter less than the cylindrical pipe and extending through the opening of the bottom end of the pipe, where the rod has a head and a shaft, where the bottom end of the shaft touches the chemical in the reservoir.

In yet another embodiment, the cylindrical pipe may be made of materials including but not limited to polyvinyl chloride, acrylic, or other plastic material. In yet another embodiment, the cylindrical pipe may made of UV resistant material, where the UV resistant material may include but is not limited to polyvinyl chloride, acrylic, or other plastic material. In still yet another embodiment, the cap on the top of the cylindrical pipe may he permanently attached to the pipe.

In another embodiment, the cap is made of materials including but not limited to polyvinyl chloride, acrylic, or any other plastic material In yet another embodiment, the coupler may be made of materials including but not limited to polyvinyl chloride, acrylic, or other plastic material. In still yet another embodiment, the coupler may be ¾ inch to ½ inch National Pipe Thread threaded pipe. In yet another embodiment, the coupler may be attached permanently to the pipe.

In another embodiment, the head of the rod may align the rod inside the cylindrical pipe and stop the rod from falling out of the cylinder. In yet another embodiment, the rod is made of materials including but not limited to acrylic. In another embodiment, the rod moves within the pipe due to gravity.

In still yet another embodiment, the means to connect the device to the chemical reservoir comprises a reservoir cap with a threaded aperture in the center, the reservoir cap installed on top of the chemical reservoir, where the threaded aperture in the center of the reservoir cap allows the reservoir cap to connect to a coupler on the bottom of a cylindrical pipe.

In another embodiment, the cap is made of polyvinyl chloride. In still another embodiment, the chemical reservoir stores at least one of chlorine, bromine, sodium chloride, potassium chloride or a combination thereof.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWING

FIG. 1 shows the chlorinator indicator as described in the present invention.

FIG. 2 shows a cross sectional side view of the chlorinator indicator.

FIGS. 3A-3C shows the head of the rod that is enclosed in the cylindrical tube of the chlorinator indicator and the manner in which it is attached to the rod.

FIG. 4 shows a view of the present invention as used with a chlorinator reservoir in the pool.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

The present invention is directed to a device that is installed on the in-line chlorinator reservoir and can be used to detect the amount of chemical remaining in a chlorinator reservoir used to disinfect pools.

The chlorinator indicator 500 comprises the means to visually determine the level of chemical remaining in the reservoir and means to attach the chlorinator indicator 500 to the chemical reservoir. FIG. 1 shows one example of the preferred embodiment of the present invention prior to installing in with in-line chlorinating system. As shown in FIG. 1, the chlorinator indicator 500 comprises a cylindrical pipe 100 with a cap 110 on its top end 101 and a coupler 120 on its bottom end 102. It also comprises a rod 200, which extends out from the bottom end 102 of the cylindrical pipe 100 and has a diameter smaller than the cylindrical pipe 100.

The chlorinator indicator 500 comprises the means to visually determine the level of the chemical remaining in the reservoir and the means to connect the chlorinator indicator to the chemical reservoir. In one embodiment of the present invention, the means to visually determine the level of the chemical remaining in the reservoir comprises hollow, clear UV resistant cylindrical pipe 100 that encloses rod 200. In an alternative embodiment, the means to visually determine the level of the chemical remaining in the reservoir comprises a substantially hollow, substantially clear cylindrical pipe 100. Thus, while the cylindrical pipe of the present invention may in some embodiments be absolutely hollow and absolutely clear, it is understood that in other embodiments, the cylindrical pipe 100 of the present invention does not necessarily have to be absolutely hollow or absolutely clear.

FIG. 2 shows a cross sectional side view of one of the embodiments of the present invention. As shown in FIG. 2, the chlorinator indicator 500 comprises a clear, UV resistant cylindrical pipe (sight tube) 100. This pipe 100 has a top end 101 and a bottom end 102. The top end 101 is covered by a cap 110. There is a coupler 120 placed on the bottom end 102 of the pipe. This pipe encloses a rod 200 that has a diameter less than that of the pipe 100. The rod 200 comprises a head 210, which is also known as indicator stop and a shaft 220. The head 210 of the rod 200 stays in the cylindrical pipe 100 at all times as the rod 200 slides inside the cylindrical pipe 1.00. One example of the manner in which the rod 200 with the head 210 and shaft 220 is shown in FIGS. 3A-3C. FIG. 3A shows the schematic view of head 2.10 of the rod 200. FIG. 3B depicts the cross-sectional view of the head 210 with center 211. FIG. 3C shows a side-view of the head 210 attached to the rod 200. The head 210 is drilled in the center 211 and attached to the diameter of the shaft 220 as shown in FIG. 3C. The shaft 220 is then pressed and glued into the hole so that the head 210 and shaft 220 are permanently bonded together and slide inside the cylindrical pipe 100. The head 210 of the rod is sized so that there is a small amount of clearance between it and the cylindrical pipe 100 and the head 210 is substantially larger than the opening at the bottom 102 of the cylindrical pipe 100 where the shaft 220 exits the cylindrical pipe 100. The rod 200 is constructed in such a manner to allow it to slide up and down the cylindrical pipe 100.

The bottom end 225 of the shaft 220 contacts the chemical inside the reservoir when the chlorinator indicator 500 is installed on top of the chlorinator 600. FIG. 4 shows the chlorinator indicator 500 installed on top of the chlorinator 600. The reservoir cap 300 replaces the original in-line chlorinator cap and has a threaded hole in the center to which coupler 120 screws into in order to secure the chlorinator indicator 500 in place. The head 210 aligns the rod 200 in the pipe and prevents the shaft 220 from moving in the lateral direction. The head 210 of the rod 200 guides the shaft 220 of the rod through the opening in coupler 120 and reservoir cap 300. The head 210 and shaft 220 of the rod 200 moves freely within the cylindrical pipe 100.

As gravity pulls the head 210 and shaft 220 of the rod 200 down, the bottom end 225 of the shaft 220 makes contact with the contents of the reservoir, thereby indicating the level of the chemical inside the reservoir. This level can be viewed through the cylindrical pipe 100, which is made of clear, polyvinyl chloride and UV resistant material. As the level inside the reservoir drops to zero, the head 210 of the rod 200 contacts coupler 120 to prevent the shaft 220 from falling out of the pipe 100. The cap 110 of the cylindrical pipe 100 is also used as a stop so that the head 210 and shaft 220 of rod 200 are contained inside the cylindrical pipe 100, thus, making it a sealed indicating system.

The chlorinator indicator 500 described in the present invention allows the user to visually determine the level of disinfectant remaining in the reservoir without having to remove the cap or cover of the reservoir. The chlorinator indicator 500 comprises a cylindrical pipe 100, which encloses a rod 200. The pipe 100, the coupler 120, and the rod 200 may have different sizes and colors. Regardless of the size of the cylindrical pipe 100 and rod 200, the rod 200 has a diameter that is less than the cylindrical pipe 100 so that the rod 200 can move freely within the cylindrical pipe 100. The diameter of the cylindrical pipe 100 can preferably range from ½ inch to 1.0 inch, with ¾ inch being the preferred size. The diameter of the rod 200 can preferably range from ¼ inch to ¾ inch with ½ inch being the preferred size. One example of the size and various embodiments of the present invention is shown in FIG. 2. It is contemplated herein that the cylindrical pipe 100, the cap 110 and the coupler 120 may be made of materials including but not limited to polyvinyl chloride, acrylic and other plastic material. The cylindrical pipe 100 may also be made of UV-resistant material including but not limited to polyvinyl chloride, acrylic or other plastic material to prevent the pipe from discoloring over time. The length of the cylindrical pipe 100 and the rod 200 depends upon the size of the chemical reservoir. The length of the conventional chlorine reservoirs are 12 inches and 24 inches. The coupler 120 may preferably be a standard ¾ inch polyvinyl chloride pipe to ½ inch National Pipe Thread (NPT) threaded pipe. While a preferred shape of the reservoir cap 300 is shown in FIG. 2, it to be understood that the reservoir cap 300 can be manufactured to have any suitable shape, size or dimensions as needed or desired. Thus, as shown in FIG. 4, the reservoir cap 300 operates to attach securely over the chlorinator 300 or any chemical reservoir that stores chemicals for disinfecting water venues.

As used herein, the term “aperture” used to describe the threaded aperture of cap 300 is understood in the art to mean an opening in the cap, where such an opening includes and is not limited to a hole, a slit, a crack, or a gap through which rod 200 can pass.

As used herein, the term “coupler” refers to a device or adaptor that can be used to join two or more components.

As used herein, the term “cap” used to describe cap 300 in the present invention replaces the original in-line chlorinator reservoir cap.

As used herein, the term “install” used herein refers to a preferred mechanism for attaching, affixing or supporting the device of the present invention on top of the chlorinator or chemical reservoir.

The foregoing descriptions of the embodiments of the present invention have been presented for purposes of illustration and description. They are not intended to be exhaustive or to limit the present invention to the precise forms disclosed. The exemplary embodiments were chosen and described in order to best explain the principles of the present invention and its practical application, to thereby enable others skilled in the art to best utilize the present invention. 

What is claimed is:
 1. A device to indicate amount of chemical remaining in a chemical reservoir, comprising: a means to visually determine the level of chemical remaining in said reservoir; and a means to connect said device to the chemical reservoir.
 2. The device of claim 1, wherein said means to visually determine the level of chemical remaining in the reservoir, comprises: a hollow, clear cylindrical pipe with a top end and an open bottom end, wherein said top end is covered by a cap and wherein a coupler is placed on said bottom end; and a rod having a diameter less than said cylindrical pipe and extending through opening of said bottom end, wherein said rod has a head and a shaft, wherein said shaft of said rod touches said chemical in said reservoir.
 3. The device of claim 2, wherein said cylindrical pipe is made of polyvinyl chloride, acrylic, or other plastic material.
 4. The device of claim 2, wherein said cylindrical pipe is made of UV resistant material, wherein said UV resistant material comprises polyvinyl chloride, acrylic or other plastic material.
 5. The device of claim 2, wherein said cap on the top end of said cylindrical pipe is permanently attached to said pipe.
 6. The device of claim 5, wherein the cap is made of polyvinyl chloride, acrylic or other plastic material.
 7. The device of claim 2, wherein said coupler is made of polyvinyl chloride, acrylic or other material.
 8. The device of claim 2, wherein said coupler is ¾″ polyvinyl chloride pipe to ½ National Pipe Thread threaded pipe.
 9. The device of claim 2, wherein said coupler is permanently attached to said pipe.
 10. The device of claim 2, wherein said head of said rod aligns the rod inside said cylindrical pipe and stops said rod from falling out of said cylinder.
 11. The device of claim 2, wherein the rod is made of acrylic.
 12. The device of claim 2, wherein movement of said rod moves within said pipe is due to gravity.
 13. The device of claim 2, wherein said cylindrical pipe has a size range from ½ inch to 1.0 inch.
 14. The device of claim 2, wherein said rod has a size range from ¼ inch to ¾ inch.
 15. The device of claim 1, wherein said means to connect said device to the chemical reservoir, comprises: a reservoir cap with threaded aperture in the center, said reservoir cap installed on top of said reservoir, wherein said threaded aperture in the center of said reservoir cap allows said reservoir cap to connect to a coupler located on bottom end of a cylindrical pipe.
 16. The device of claim 15, wherein said cap is made of polyvinyl chloride.
 17. The device of claim 1, wherein said chemical reservoir stores at least one of chlorine, bromine, sodium chloride, potassium chloride or a combination thereof. 